Just spent the last few days in San Francisco and can’t wait to share our trip. We got back late yesterday afternoon and finished up this fun little project using Silhouette’s temporary tattoo paper:

I drew these little “monster” parts at Boo’s direction and sized them for the hand and fingers (click below to download the graphics). They can be mixed and matched to create a variety of monster characters:

I printed them out onto the tattoo paper using my regular ink jet printer:

This total cost of this project was approximately $10…..not counting trinkets and paint I had on hand already. An inexpensive and endless possibility project for a large range of ages. We purchased the mini birdhouses from Michael’s craft store for $1 each!

Update: The little fairies are from Disney. There are several different sets you can get from Amazon, Target, Toys R Us or Disney.

Boo and I had so much fun this weekend turning these inexpensive mini birdhouses……

….into a realistic neighborhood for her tiny fairy dolls:

I couldn’t resist adding the tiniest of details like a “welcome” sign:

Potted plants:

Copper accents:

Vintage stamp bunting:

A clock made from old watch parts and a tiny twig ladder:

The first step was to cut open the birdhouse holes to make larger doors. I marked the opening with a pencil first:

I used a small electric saw but you could also use a hand saw. Don’t have a saw? This wood is so lightweight you could cut through it with a serrated knife as well with a little more work……or just ask a neighbor!

I carefully cut out my door opening:

…..and the bottom of the door opening will pop right out:

Use a file or sand paper to smooth the edges:

The new houses:

I spray painted the houses different colors:

For the mushroom house, I painted the base color of off white first and then cut small circles out of adhesive shelf paper to block a coat of red spray paint:

I had some small watch parts on hand from Silver Crow Creations and I used them to make a realistic clock:

Tiny letter stamps and part of a popsicle stick…..

Note: Micheal’s also has a ton of these tiny letter stamps in the dollar bin section! ($1 for 26 stamps….in many fonts!)

…..made a perfect sign for Tinkerbell’s new house:

Boo helped me glue some silk plant leaves to the roof of one of the buildings:

I used a hot glue gun to add some bark to another roof:

Copper adhesive tape (from the craft store) was added as an accent:

……as well as some copper hinges (from the scrapbook section of the craft store):

Some small twigs and a some hemp twine made perfect ladder:

Boo painted some small wooden pots (from the wood hobby section of the craft store):

…..and we filled them with silk flowers. I filled the bottom with hot glue to keep the flowers in place:

A few vintage stamps and an airmail envelope……

…..made some mini bunting:

Mr. LBB helped out by spray painting a plastic tub dark brown……

……and filling it with dirt, bark and plants. Our friends Walker and Amy sent us a beautiful pot of these mixed houseplants for my father’s memorial…..and they were the perfect little forest setting:

The fun part is you can add to it all summer long! Use an existing garden to make a huge fairy village. Michael’s has a bunch of intricate birdhouses of the same scale in their clearance section right now….pirate ships, temples etc. It would be a great project for so many different ages. You could tailor it to a boys liking too for lego people!

Tinkerbell in her new house:

Fawn in the town square:

Silvermist at the clock tower:

Hours of entertainment:

I love miniature. I could go on forever. Try to visualize what you would reuse around the house if you were “fairy” sized:

Make a mini pond with a jar lid.
Paint mini wood plates and milk bottles.
Add in thimbles for buckets and trash cans.
Pennies or broken tile bits for stepping stones.
A small stamp for artwork or a poster.
Popsicle sticks and toothpicks for signs.
Wine corks cut in half for stools.
Small beads and trinkets hung from plants for wind chimes.

I ate a glazed donut this morning. It just didn’t seem like the right pastry to make an “inspired” necklace out of…….so I chose a sprinkled donut for this project. I would love to have a donut themed party one day for Boo……and I thought a donut charm necklace or bracelet would make the cutest party favor. This one is for Silpada…..the sweet girl that works at the Swiss Donut shop and fills my order cheerfully every morning:

The donut was made using these little pre-cut wood disks from the craft store:

I used a standard household drill to add a hole in the center. I had to tightly hold the disk still with two fingers and drill very slowly to keep it from turning.

I used a pipe cleaner to hold the disk as I painted it with a base “donut” color:

I used a small paint brush to add a layer of pink icing:

I used basic acrylic craft paint in colors Almond Parfait and Baby Pink:

I used a tiny brush (actually a brush I cut most of the bristles off of) to add several colors of sprinkles:

I used my tiniest drill bit to drill a tiny hole for a jump ring:

Then using a pipe cleaner to hold the finished donut I sprayed it with a clear gloss varnish. I stuck the pipe cleaner upright in a jar to hold the disk until it dried.

I love the look of DIY Fabric Garland and Tiny Paper Garland. I made this tiny paper garland using paper and basic twine from the hardware store….it’s perfect for photo props, party decor or home decor! You could use any shape for any theme…..I chose flower shapes for this garland:

I used cardstock weight scrapbook paper:

I had my Silhouette machine cut out all the flower shapes…..

….but a simple shape punch and hole punch will do the same thing:

I threaded twine through the paper shapes:

I used a little glue on the ends of the twine to make it easier to thread through the small holes (after the glue dries):

The finished garland! You can store it on a piece of cardboard to keep it from getting tangled:

For this tent I knew I wanted a quilted patchwork look, but I just don’t have the patience to make a perfect patchwork pattern. Instead, I started with large pieces fabric to make the sewing and measuring part easy and then cut them down into smaller strips after they were sewn together. The wooden A-frame part of the tent was made in a similar fashion to the one from Cakies, so instead of reinventing the wheel you can click here for full frame tutorial.

To make the outside patchwork for this tent I used various fabrics including many vintage items that were from my mother’s fabric stash. First, I cut most of the fabric into large pieces making sure the widths were the same…approximately 16″. The length measurements varied randomly from 6″ to 25″.

I have jars of buttons all over my studio and I’m always brainstorming different unique ways to use them. I recently ordered some leather cuffs from Dharma Trading and thought the buttons would be a great way to embellish them.

These leather blank cuffs are a great base for a project since the hardware is already attached. The best part is they are really inexpensive and precut!

Then I used a cloth to apply it to the the leather. Two coats worked perfectly:

I recommend using gloves when dyeing…..I’m always too impatient, but I don’t mind walking around town with discolored hands.

Once the leather was dry I took a sanding block to distress it. If you want it smooth and supple you can add wax or softener and buff it. I left mine plain because I wanted it slightly dry and distressed:

I sorted out a selection of buttons in a tan, brown and muted palette:

To apply the buttons I used an small 1/16″ scrapbook hole punch, a sharp needle type tool, an embroidery needle and DMC thread:

I placed my first button on the cuff and used the sharp tool to mark where I needed to punch holes:

Using a skinny scrapbook punch I punched the small holes using my marks:

It’s easiest to mark several buttons at once……

……and then move them off the cuff, but keeping them in the same order as you punch your holes:

It only took me about an hour to sew all of these buttons on and I love how eclectic and earthy the cuff turned out!

Here’s the cutout on the screen. Since the cut is a “positive” cut, I added pieces of vinyl to outline the bunting triangle…….

……and masked the other areas of the screen:

Now I just have to finish the rest of the pieces today:

I’ve been ready to release a new carryall pattern and as I silk screened I decided to use the bunting design to make myself a new bag! I silk screened the design on a canvas tablecloth and then cut out the pattern pieces.

I love wearing white all summer and this bag will be perfect to compliment it!

Mother’s Day is coming up and here’s an easy, inexpensive gift idea that can be personalized and special! To make these little charms, I took ordinary metal brads in different shapes…..

…..added different embellishment and then sealed them using embossing powder. All of the items I used can be found at your local craft or scrapbooking store.

Basic materials needed:
Embossing powder
Metal brads
Metal jump ring

Step 1: Carefully break off the brad’s prongs by moving them back and forth until they fall off. You can use a nail file to smooth any sharp edges.

Step 2: Using a small nail or awl, punch a hole in the top where you will insert a jump ring.

Use nail clippers to cut off any sharp edges from where the hole was created.

Step 4: Decorate the inside of the brad. There are a gazillion possibilities here….

Paint a tiny design:

Apply a small sticker, rhinestone or other embellishment:

Or….paste an extra small photo or picture to the back (I used nail nippers to trim the edges):

Step 5: Add a jump ring to the charm.

Step 6: Flatten out a piece of tin foil to use as a tray that can be placed in the oven. You’ll need embossing powder for this step.

Cut a small strip of paper to use as a little “spoon” and fill the brad with powder:

Carefully place the tinfoil tray into a toaster oven or oven (350 degrees). Watch as the embossing powder slowly melts into a smooth clear covering. Take out of the oven to cool.

If the clear melted covering is a little uneven you can hold the charm carefully and reheat it with a heat gun or blowdryer until it levels out. Use a nail file to carefully smooth the edges if needed.

Finished charms!

I love how they look when they are all bunched together as eclectic charms! What will you decorate yours with?